The trial of Sayle Kenneth Newson, accused of murdering his girlfriend Carly McBride in 2014, will start again in May next year after the first trial was aborted when the jury heard potentially prejudicial evidence.
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Mr Newson, 42, of Buff Point, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms McBride at Muswellbrook on September 30, 2014, and dumping her body in bush about 25 metres from Bunnan Road at Owens Gap.
His friend and co-accused, 28-year-old Muswellbrook man James Anthony Cunneen, has pleaded not guilty to accessory after the fact to murder and denies assisting Mr Newson by helping dump Ms McBride's body and providing him with a false alibi.
The pair were about seven weeks, including 31 days of evidence, into an estimated three-month murder trial in Newcastle Supreme Court when, on July 12, the proceedings were brought to a sudden halt.
Justice Mark Ierace made the decision to discharge the jury and abort the trial after they inadvertently heard "highly prejudicial" evidence earlier in the week.
The case was sent back to the Sydney Supreme Court arraignment list, where on Friday the trial was listed to begin again on May 4, 2020 - nearly a year after the first trial commenced.
This time around the trial was given a slightly shorter estimate of eight to 10 weeks.
Both Mr Newson, who is represented by barrister Phil Massey and solicitor Mark Ramsland, and Mr Cunneen, who is represented by Public Defender Peter Krisenthal and solicitors Chris O'Brien and Kristy Winter, have retained their legal representation. Justice Ierace will again preside over the trial in Newcastle Supreme Court.
The prosecution case against Mr Newson is a wholly circumstantial one.
Detectives allege that Mr Newson, jealous and on an ice binge, intercepted Ms McBride after she left a visit with her daughter at Calgaroo Avenue, Muswellbrook, and before she got to Muswellbrook McDonald's.
They say Mr Newson murdered Ms McBride by inflicting a number of blows to her head and back between 2pm and 5pm and dumped her body in a remote area of bushland near Bunnan Road at Owens Gap, about 17 kilometres north-west of Scone.
After extensive searches, Ms McBride's remains were found on August 7, 2016, nearly two years after her disappearance and death.